God Found His Man

In the closing days of his life, the prophet Samuel was heavy-hearted over the condition of the kingdom, and in particular, over what he found in the life of King Saul. God had rejected Saul. Israel desperately needed leadership. Something had to be done. The man of God had a broken heart as he thought about his nation.

“And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.”I Samuel 16:1

God did a wonderful work in the life of a young shepherd boy to enable him to lead his entire generation. God said, “I have provided me a king.”David is mentioned 1,127 times in the Bible. Our God has placed an unmistakable emphasis on the life of David. What is there about this man that God wants us to know that is so vital that He speaks of him over a thousand times in His Word? What does God want us to learn from David’s life during this time of isolation and change?

The Lord found David during a time of great need in the nation of Israel. The Lord still searches for those He can bless and use today. He is searching this very moment for those who have a heart for Him. He spies out our spiritual lives and sees what is in our hearts. God has already made a plan to bless in an outstanding way in our generation, a way that is far beyond what we ordinarily witness. He is still looking. 

In order to be the man or woman God uses, we must accept these truths during the situation we are presently faced with:

THE LORD IS IN CONTROL

God asked Samuel, “How long will you worry and fret? How long will you think that this is your nation and your people and not My nation and My people?” Many times the Lord has said to me, “How long will you think that this is your church and these are your people?” The church is the Lord’s, and these are His people. It is His work and He will take care of it.

It looked to Samuel as if the kingdom were out of control. Saul’s life was certainly out of control, but God was still in control. We seem to have the idea that when things around us are falling apart, the whole world must be coming apart at the seams as well. Many of us have felt this way during this global pandemic, but we need to remind ourselves that God is still in control. He has never lost the reins. 

As I yield my life to God and give everything over to Him, I find a wonderfully sweet peace. When we realize that God is in control, it is a blessing and a comfort to our hearts.

THE LORD IS ALWAYS WORKING

We may not always see God’s work, but He is always working. He was preparing David when no one knew much about him except the Lord. He had a plan when all other plans had failed. Full of worry and fret, Samuel had to learn that God was in control.

Many times, we believe that great things cannot be done. You and I may feel like life is on hold, that there is nothing to be gained for God’s kingdom at this present time. We can allow our minds to be conditioned to believe that God is not going to do great things. But God is always working. We should desire for God to do a mighty work in our lives and in the lives of our families and churches at this very moment.

THE LORD USES PEOPLE WHOM OTHERS OVERLOOK

Seven of Jesse’s sons were brought before Samuel. One by one they came and God said, “That’s not the one; that’s not the one; that’s not the one.” Finally, Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your boys?” Jesse answered, “I have another young son in the field keeping the sheep.” Because he was able to send someone else to care for the sheep, Jesse could have already brought David in from the field had he thought that God might use him.

God works in such a way that He gets the glory and men do not. If we begin to steal His glory, He will stop blessing. The glory belongs to the Lord, not to men. Praise God for salvation. Praise God for His mercy and grace. I thank God that I have been redeemed. Salvation is the starting point, and God desires to finish the work that He has started in all our lives.

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”I Corinthians 1:26-29

There is a God in heaven who desires to bless and use us amidst the crisis we face in 2020. Look with the eyes of faith and see how God wants to use you to make a difference in someone else’s life. Just as God found His man in the days of Samuel, I pray that He finds His man or woman for our generation in us.